Led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, advocates gathered earlier this week to warn of the effects of proposed cuts to human needs programs. The speakers, including advocates for human needs, education, the environment, labor and public health, among others, warned of both dangerous spending cuts and harmful and discriminatory policy riders sprinkled throughout all 12 fiscal year 2025 House spending bills.
Archives: Voices
Statement by CHN on the announcement that President Biden will not seek a second term
President Biden and his Administration have achieved historic advances towards meeting our vital needs. We applaud his accomplishments and thank him for his continued service to the nation.
It’s time for a child allowance, no strings attached
During the pandemic, the expanded Child Tax Credit was a lifeline for millions of families. However, I was one of the many who couldn’t benefit from it. Why? At 15, I gave my baby to family members. But because the adoption was never finalized, I actually ended up owing child support — and only found out after it had compounded. Because of that debt, I was unfairly denied the Child Tax Credit for the children I later had with my husband.
The unbearable sting and pain of Grants Pass
I loved the library as a child. The library was my safe place, especially in the summer, when schools were also closed. But sometimes, the libraries were closed. I could count on most libraries being closed on Sundays. Even when they were open, as a child, sometimes I wanted to play outside. Whenever I wanted to play outside, my mom would pile every single one of our earthly belongings into a shopping cart, and we would go to the park. We were always clean, but with our piles of bags, it was obvious we were homeless.
The Challenge of Our Time: Use Democracy; Reject Violence
Once more we were witnesses to shocking violence as a man with an assault rifle injured former President Trump, killed Corey Comperatore and sent David Dutch and James Copenhaver to the hospital with serious injuries. We mourn the death of Mr. Comperatore and hope for the speedy recovery of the injured.
CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, July 12, 2024
The (mis)appropriations Edition. The House Appropriations Committee has now passed all 12 of its appropriations bills. The picture is not pretty, but most of them face an unclear future.
Biden Administration finalizes new worker protections
In April, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard, and Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden hosted a White House event to announce new rules aimed at bolstering workers and providing growth to the American economy “from the bottom up and the middle out.” One rule, which expands overtime protections for workers, took effect this month.
SNAP: ‘Our first line of defense against hunger’
More than 1,400 groups are asking Congress to protect and strengthen the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as part of the Farm Bill. The groups are particularly concerned with a House GOP proposal that would adjust the Thrifty Food Plan that helps determine the size of monthly SNAP benefits. The adjustment, part of a Farm Bill that has passed the House Agriculture Committee, would result in cuts of nearly $30 billion over 10 years, and every SNAP recipient would be affected.
CHN member groups react to Supreme Court rulings attacking the power and authority of federal agencies
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 40 years of jurisprudence when it weakened the ability of federal agencies to set policy and take actions to serve the public.
House Republicans release FY 2025 Census funding with 2 percent cut from 2024 levels
On June 25, House Republicans released the text of their proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) appropriations bill, which funds, among other things, the U.S. Census Bureau. The bill provides the Census Bureau with $1.354 billion—an amount that is well below both the agency’s FY 2024 funding level ($1.382 billion) and the Administration’s FY 2025 budget request ($1.6 billion).
‘This cruel, misguided ruling will only worsen homelessness’
The U.S. Supreme Court Friday ruled that local jurisdictions may ticket and arrest unhoused people for sleeping outside in public places, even when adequate shelter or housing is not available. The 6-3 decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Elena Kagan dissenting, immediately drew scathing criticism from advocates for the unhoused.
Groups tell Congress: Don’t cut the programs that meet our needs
More than 1,100 organizations from all across the country have signed a letter to congressional leaders, calling on Congress to provide enough funding in next year’s appropriations bills to “invest the amounts needed to meet the needs of our country and protect American competitiveness, economic strength, security, and services critical to families and individuals” and to reject “poison pill policy riders.” So far, the House Committee on Appropriations has been producing exactly the kinds of funding bills this very large number of groups oppose.